Hinge



March 2Q, 1935.

W. R. LUSTIG HINGE Filed April 5 Patented Mar. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HINGE Walter R. Lustig, Rockford, Ill., assignor to The Atwood Vacuum Machine Company, Rockford,

Ill., a. (an-partnership composed of Seth B.

2 Claims.

This invention relates to hinges generally and has particular reference to a closed type hinge especially designed and adapted for use on the doors of motor vehicles.

Covered joint hinges have been used extensively on automobiles, but give the desired appearance only from the front, top, and end, the back being open and unsightly. It is, therefore, the principal object of my invention to provide a closed type hinge giving a covered joint hinge appearance from all sides.

Another object of my invention is to provide a hinge of sheet metal construction throughout involving the simpler blanking and forming operations, whereby to keep the cost down to a minimum but at the same time produce a hinge of unusually good appearance and one having the requisite strength and rigidity.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in Which- Figures 1 and 2 are views looking at the opposite sides of the hinge made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 3 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a top view showing adjacent portions of the door and body in horizontal section;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through the hinge taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 3;

Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing in Fig. 6 the pierced blank for the outer hinge member produced in the first operation, and in Fig. '7 the same blank when formed in the second operation and subsequently milled on the end between the knuckles, and

Figs. 8 and 9 are views similar to Figs. 2 and 4, respectively, showing slight variations in construction.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts throughout the views.

Referring first to Figures 1-5, the numerals l and II designate the outer and inner hinge members, respectively, arranged to be fastened in the usual way to the door I2 and body pillar l3. That portion of the hinge member I!) projecting from the door [2 is of channel-shaped cross-section to provide longitudinal top and bottom cover flanges l4 and 15 between which the exposed portion of the other hinge member I I is received when the knuckle IS on the end thereof is pivotally connected to the projecting knuckles I1 and I8 by a pintle IS. The space between the members is, therefore, closed by the flanges l4 and i for better appearance and to exclude moisture. The shank of the pintle l9 has a working fit in the bore 20 of the knuckle l6 and a drive fit in the holes 2| in the knuckles l1 and I8 for obvious reasons. A slight clearance is provided at 22 between the knuckle l6 and the end of the hinge member I 0 sufficient to avoid scraping of the knuckle in the opening and closing of the door and yet not sufiicient to detract from the closed appearance of the hinge or give rise to much danger of moisture entering and interfering with the easy operation of the door. The ends of the knuckle l6 are slightly in relief with respect to the top and bottom edges of the hinge member II so as to leave a slight clearance, as indicated at 23, between the flanges l4 and I5 and the edges of the member II. In that way, the closed appearance is maintained on the back of the hinge and easy operation is insured and all end thrust is assumed Where the flanges I4 and I5 have abutment with the ends of the knuckle I6. An oil hole 24 is preferably provided in the top flange l4 alongside the pintle I9 and arranged to register with a depression 25 formed in the upper end of'the knuckle l6, extending radially from the bore 20 and formed suitably by means of a punch. Oil supplied to this depression through the hole 24 is assured of travel the full length of the bore 20 so that the hinge will be well lubricated and operate easily and quietly.

It should appear from the foregoing description that the hinge of my invention is attractive in appearance when viewed from any direction, all sides giving substantially the appearance obtained on the front, top and end of a covered joint hinge but not obtained in such hinges on the back. Obviously, since the back of the hinge is just as much exposed as the front, it is just as important that that side have a good appearance. Observing Figures 1-4, it is readily apparent that this closed type hinge has the same flush, covered appearance on all sides. Then too, the fact that in the present hinge the knuckle I6 itself forms the outer end of the hinge and there is no hood or cover portion to enclose it. means quite a perceptible reduction in the length to which the hinge projects from the automobile body, which is considered to be an important advantage because it makes the hinges less noticeable on the car.

Both hinge members are formed from sheet metal. The outer hinge member ID is stamped from sheet metal and pierced in the same operation to produce the blank A shown in Fig. 6. In the piercing, the pintle holes 2| are formed in the knuckle portions I! and I8 and screw holes, not shown, are made at the same time in the other said member.

end of the blank which is to be fastened to the door l2. The next operation is that of forming the sides of the blank A to the form shown in Fig. 7 to provide parallel top and bottom cover flanges I4 and IS with the knuckles l1 and I8 coextensive therewith and in substantially parallel relation with the holes 2| therein in alignment. The outer end of the blank between the knuckles l1 and I8 is still square but it requires a slight and inexpensive milling operation to take off enough stock, as at 26, to provide the clearance 22 previously referred to for the knuckle IS. The edges 21, Fig. 2, are rounded as the result of the bending of the flanges l4 and I5, and only a slight amount of grinding is required at 28 to round the edges of the knuckles H and [8 to correspond therewith. The inner hinge member is formed in a simple blanking and piercing operation to provide the screw holes at the fastening end thereof and then in a subsequent break-down operation and another operation of curling the knuckle I6 is formed. If desired, the knuckle 16 can be ground barrel-shaped, as appears in Figures 1 and 2, and the ends of the knuckles l1 and It can be ground to conform thereto as shown. The barrel bulge can, if desired, be carried further along the exposed portion of the outer hinge member III by forming this member to that shape in the same operation when the flanges l4 and I are produced, or by grinding the outer face of If desired, the inner hinge member l I can likewise be given a barrel bulge. However, I prefer to have only the knuckle end of the hinge members formed barrel-shaped as shown.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a hinge in which the outer hinge member I0 has the fastening shank portion 29 of the same width as the exposed portion 30. In other words, the tail portion of the blank A of Fig. 6 is made wider and the bending line for each of the flanges l4 and I5, instead of being in line with the edge of the shank, as in Fig. 7, is offset inwardly from said edge to about the thickness of the stock so that when the flanges are formed the outer faces of the flanges come into alignment approximately with the edges of the shank. In this forming of the flanges, a shear will occur, as indicated at 3|, leaving a square edge on the shank 29 and forming a rounded edge on the exposed portion 30. The advantage in having extra width in the shank portion is that the screw holes can be spaced farther apart and the hinge mounting will accordingly be stronger and less apt to loosen. In this hinge, the knuckle I6 on the hinge member II is shown as cylindrical.

In the hinge of Fig. 9, the outer hinge member Illa has its exposed portion 30" bent at an angle to the fastening shank portion 29, whereas, the' inner hinge member I la is straight. The top and bottom flanges are accordingly made wider at the inner end next to the body so as to still cover the space between the hinge members, as in the hinge first described. Only the top flange M appears in this view. While I have shown the outer member bent, it should be understood that the inner member may be bent instead of the outer member to obtain the desired offsetting of the pintle, or both of the members may be bent to obtain a desired location of the pintle. In practice, I have found that the best results are obtained by bending the inner member to the desired shape and providing the cover flanges with the properly profiled edges to match the curvature or bending of the inner member.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn with a view to covering all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a hinge, comprising two butts pivotally connected by a pintle, the one butt having a transverse knuckle portion with a longitudinal bore provided therein to receive the pintle with a working fit, the upper end of said knuckle being formed to provide a depression communicating with the bore, the other butt having top and bottom cover flanges straddling the first butt and abutting the upper and lower ends of said,

knuckle, the top flange having an opening provided therein arranged in one position to register with the aforesaid depression whereby to permit supplying lubricant to said depression through said flange, and the aforesaid pintle being entered through openings provided in said flanges and registering with the knuckle bore, whereby to pivotally connect said butts.

2. In a hinge comprising two butts having knuckle portions pivotally connected by a pintle,

the knuckle portions having registering bores provided therein to receive the pintle, the pintle having a working fit in the bore of the knuckle portion of one butt, the upper end of said knuckle portion being formed to provide a depression communicating with the bore, the other butt having an opening provided in the knuckle portion thereof disposed over said depression, the opening being arranged in one position of the butt to register with said depression, whereby to permit supplying lubricant to said depression.

WALTER R. LUSTIG. 

